Lesson: It's Lonely at the Top

 Author: Kasey Yturralde

Area: Life Sciences 

 Grade Level: 6-8

Overview: The main objective of this lesson plan is to teach students about food chains and food webs. First students participate in discussion about their knowledge and misconceptions about food chains and food webs that is accompanied by a short film. This is followed by and art/science activity in which students model choose a food web and model the different trophic levels by creating a mobile. Upon completion of mobiles, students discuss what aspects of their mobile accurately model a food web and which components are missing or could be added to their food web models. Formative assessment is conducted through class discussions and student reflections in journal entries. Summative assessment is conducted through a final writing assignment in which students are given a description of a new food web with an introduced species or pollutant and respond with a news article to alert the local community.

Standards:

AZ standards

Grades 6-8
   Strand 1: Inquiry process

• Concept 1: Observation, Questions and Hypothesis
• Concept 2: Scientific testing (investigating and modeling)
• Concept 3: Analysis and Conclusions
• Concept 4: Communication

   Strand 3: Science in Personal and Social Perspectives

• Concept 1: Changes in Environments

Grade 6
   Strand 4: Life Science

• Concept 1: Structure and Function in Living Systems
• Concept 3: Populations of Organisms in an Ecosystem

Grade 7
   Strand 4: Life Science

• Concept 3: Populations of Organisms in an Ecosystem

National Standards

• Content Standard A: Science as inquiry
• Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry
• Understanding about scientific inquiry
• Content Standard C: Life Science
• Populations and ecosystems

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